MORROWS WORLD
MORROWS WORLD
DIARY FROM A FAMILY FARM IN ULSTER
Over these past few days, my youngest daughter, Helen, has come up against a dilemma well known to all animal-loving farmers. She has always been a child who loves all Gods creatures, from the revolting slugs outside the back door to the cuddliest of our fluffy rabbits. The latest saga concerns a rat currently living behind our hen run. Weve suspected its presence all summer as there have been very few eggs to lift and then two young ducklings disappeared with no logical explanation. We were proved right last week when Helen spied it dashing out of what we call the "Ducks Bedroom" as she was locking ducks up for the night.
The next evening it was there again, but didnt dash off quite so quickly. Over the next few days she was able to wait quietly and watch it as it tucked into the food she put into the pens to encourage the ducks in. We wondered about sending Bob our Collie in after it, but decided that he wouldnt be brave enough, so we asked Johnston for his advice. "Easy, just put some rat poison in the ducks feeder – as long as you remember to change it before you let the ducks in, youll be sure to nail it in a day or two." It certainly seemed an easy answer and I told Helen I would buy some poison the next day. That night at bedtime, Helen mentioned that the rat had quite a nice wee face and I realised there would be problems ahead.
As suspected, the next morning, she asked me not to buy the poison as she had got to like the rat and thought it would be OK for him to live with the ducks. Can you imagine Johnstons reaction. He told her in no uncertain terms that rats were dirty thieving beasts that had to be exterminated in any manner possible. He reminded her of the new chicks in the next pen – did she want to see them killed by her new "friend"? Poor Helen, she had to agree that the rat would have to go, but I know where shes coming from – rats can have nice wee faces.
During my teens I wrote a diary every night, indeed I kept it up until we had our first baby and I simply no longer had the staying power to keep a daily record. I still enjoy looking back and reliving those long ago days – in fact its a danger to have a quick look if I come across them, as I can easily be there for an hour, laughing or crying over forgotten highs and lows of my adolescence. Even now, before I write this article each month, I look back and see what I wrote at the same time last year. I have always totally forgotten what happened and enjoy remembering, but somehow, I dont think any of us will ever forget September 2001 and the terrorist attack on America. As one who has lived most of her life with a background of terrorism I have a deep understanding that such events change everything. No-one is the same afterwards. With such an atrocity, I believe our world will change and that is the frightening stomach-turning feeling that I recognise from my own experience. As a teenager, would the murder of a local catholic put my life as a protestant in danger? As an adult, would the bomb in Omagh bring the peace process to a halt or make us more determined to succeed? I have so many of these moments in my own lifetime; this is a familiar place for me; now the whole world is in this predicament. My stomach is turning.